AP - Evgeni Malkin skated again with several NHL players Monday at the Los Angeles Kings' practice rink, and his agent said he was optimistic the 20-year-old hockey star will soon become a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

AP - In a brief respite from another scorching August workout, Jim Tressel hesitated when asked to look back on his first five years as Ohio State's coach.

AP - Svetlana Kuznetsova wanted to get some work in before the U.S. Open.

AP - All signs point toward Tiger Woods being ready to go on another roll.

AP - John Gibbons and Ted Lilly exchanged words on the mound during a pitching change.

AP - Aaron Rowand got a jarring reception in his return to Chicago — from his own teammate, too.

AP - Pockmarked muck blots this formerly lush marsh on Cape Cod. Dead plant roots jut from barren mud once covered with wavy mats of marsh hay. New England scientists began noticing dead patches like this one near Lieutenant Island four years ago and called it sudden wetland dieback. Then more such spots were found.

AP - An endangered manatee made a rare appearance in Rhode Island waters during the weekend, a state marine biologist said.

AP - The St. Louis Zoo introduced reporters Monday to its 3-week-old baby elephant, a toddling 346-pounder who's already getting the hang of using her trunk.

AFP - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is due in China for a visit aimed at forging closer energy and economic ties, as interest also centered on whether the trip would boost his anti-US platform.

AP - Stepping outside the boundaries of strict political and diplomatic protocol gets no more attention than when the president of the United States does it. And President Bush has been doing a lot of it recently.

AP - Since the invention of the remote control, political campaigns have had a tough time persuading viewers to sit and watch their television ads rather than switching to another channel.

AP - Customers shop around when they buy an airline ticket or a new car, so why not when they need a hip replacement or treatment for a sore throat?

Reuters - President George W. Bush said on Monday the Iraq war was "straining the psyche" of Americans and conceded it would be a major issue in November elections, when control of the U.S. Congress is up for grabs.

Reuters - The war crimes trial of former Bosnian Serb officers for the Srebrenica massacre is a step forward but justice but will not be done until other top fugitives are arrested, U.N. prosecutor Carla del Ponte said on Monday.

The National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF) lauds Progress Energy Florida for winning Florida Minority Supplier Development Council’s (FMSDC) Corporation of the Year Award for the second time.

AP - California importer Frank Lettieri is being sued for not warning his customers that his balsamic vinegar contains lead. True enough, he says. But you would have to drink more than a pint of the vinegar every day to reach the government limit for safe exposure to lead. Most people just sprinkle a few drops onto salads or bread.

Reuters - News, comment, cricket scores -- and contraception.

AFP - Vietnam's poor northern highlands face the threat of "twin epidemics" of intravenous drug use and HIV/AIDS infection, national leaders and UN officials have warned.

AP - Kevin Federline's TV debut as a rapper is getting derided as a not-ready-for-prime-­time disaster by critics in cyberspace and the hip-hop community.